Latest news with #TOF
Time of India
2 days ago
- Health
- Time of India
City Docs Save Woman With Congenital Heart Defect Without Open Surgery
Nagpur: In a groundbreaking development, Nagpur-based doctors performed a rare and highly advanced heart procedure that saved a young woman's life — without open heart surgery. The patient, born with a complex congenital heart defect known as Blue baby syndrome (Tetralogy of Fallot or TOF), a condition wherein a baby's skin turns bluish due to lack of oxygen in blood, had undergone a major open-heart surgery as a child. Now an adult, she recently became severely unwell due to a leaking heart valve and needed another major surgery. Instead of undergoing another high-risk open-heart operation, she received a minimally invasive treatment — much like angioplasty — through a vein in her leg. Incredibly, the patient was able to walk and talk just an hour after the procedure and was ready to go home within 24 hours. This life-saving and rare procedure, known as Transcatheter Pulmonary Valve Implantation, was successfully carried out by Dr Manish Chokhandre, senior interventional paediatric cardiologist at Arneja Heart Institute. "Redo open-heart surgeries are extremely risky, especially in adults with childhood congenital heart conditions," explained Dr Chokhandre. "We carefully studied the patient's unique heart structure, custom-designed a special valve, and performed the entire procedure without opening the chest. " Welcoming the advancement, Dr Amar Amale, president of Cardiological Society of India (CSI), Vidarbha chapter, said, "Gone are the days when children had to undergo open-heart surgery with large chest incisions. Paediatric cardiology has advanced to a level where even a complex congenital heart condition in an adult, who earlier had childhood surgery, can now be treated through a simple leg vein — just like an angioplasty. It's a huge leap in cardiac care." "Paediatric cardiology needs more attention. One in every 100 children is born with a heart defect. Many go undiagnosed or are diagnosed too late," said Dr Chokhandre, who regularly performs heart procedures on newborns. Veteran cardiologist Dr Jaspal Arneja said, "Thanks to medical advances and new technologies, even complex heart problems can be treated more safely. With artificial intelligence (AI) helping us understand heart function better, we can now offer more accurate and effective treatment." This successful case from Nagpur brings hope to hundreds of children and adults born with heart defects — and shows how medical science and skillful execution are transforming lives, one heartbeat at a time. Get the latest lifestyle updates on Times of India, along with Eid wishes , messages , and quotes !
Fibre2Fashion
13-05-2025
- Business
- Fibre2Fashion
US AAFA submits comments to Canada on PFAS management
The American Apparel & Footwear Association (AAFA) recently requested Canadian Minister of Environment and Climate Change Terry Duguid to include an exemption for products that test below the 100 ppm total organic fluorine (TOF) threshold under prohibitions for intentionally-added per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in textile products. In California, Vermont and other US states, the intentional addition of PFAS in textile articles is regulated through a limit on TOF, which helps ensure a consistent and easily understood regulatory framework applied across textile products. AAFA members have for several years now been diligently working to ensure products are below the established TOF threshold of 100 parts per million (ppm) currently in place in California. US trade body AAFA has requested Canadian Minister of Environment and Climate Change Terry Duguid to include an exemption for products that test below the 100 ppm total organic fluorine threshold under prohibitions for intentionally-added PFAS in textile products. It also requested Canada to include an exemption from PFAS regulation for products made with at least 50-per cent recycled content. While it is possible to manufacture new, general consumer products without intentionally adding PFAS, it is not possible for textile, apparel or footwear companies to completely eliminate trace contamination that can occur as part of production, AAFA noted. AAFA also requested Canada to include an exemption from PFAS regulation for products made with at least 50-per cent recycled content. Such an exemption is absolutely necessary to enable the industry's transition to a more sustainable and circular sourcing and production, AAFA observed. In a letter to the minister, it urged the Canadian regulatory authorities to consider worker safety when seeking to regulate PFAS and remove personal protective equipment (PPE) from the scope of the proposed Phase 2 prohibition of PFAS in textiles. The requests were part of AAFA's feedback on Canada's 'risk management approach' for PFAS, excluding fluoropolymers, an AAFA release said. Although the 'risk management approach' states that 'alternatives appear to be broadly available to impart waterproof properties to textiles, including in personal protective equipment', it is worth noting that the Washington State Department of Ecology last year declined to propose restrictions on PFAS in PPE because they were unable to identify safer alternatives, AAFA noted. Similarly, California and other jurisdictions that have or are seeking to prohibit the use of intentionally added PFAS in products have created flat exemptions for PPE. Maintaining an exemption for PPE creates regulatory harmonisation and consistency for manufacturers and PPE buyers, AAFA added. Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)
Express Tribune
01-05-2025
- Health
- Express Tribune
India's sabre-rattling takes its toll on innocent lives
Listen to article A Pakistani family's seven-year struggle to obtain medical treatment for their children in India ended in devastation when their visas were abruptly cancelled amidst escalating tensions between India and Pakistan last week, a media report said on Wednesday. According to BBC, Shahid Ali and his wife Ambareen had been trying to secure Indian visas for seven years to get medical treatment for their children, Mansa, 7, and Abdullah, 9, who suffer from a rare heart condition called Tetralogy of Fallot (TOF). After finally obtaining the visas, they arrived at the Asian Institute of Medical Sciences in Faridabad, Haryana, on April 21 – just a day before the killing of 26 tourists in Pahalgam in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK). Without providing any evidence, the Indian government blamed Pakistan for the attack and announced a raft of punitive measures, including cancelling of the visas of the Pakistani citizens. The Pakistanis in India were told to leave the country in seven days. According to the report, the doctors at the hospital supported every possible way, including pushing up the date of the surgery, but in vain. "An official came and informed us that our visas had been cancelled. Upon hearing this, my wife broke down in tears," BBC quoted Shahid Ali as saying. "When we started preparing to return, the children asked why we were going back without getting treatment. This time, it wasn't just my wifewe both cried. When I couldn't find an answer, I simply told them, 'We'll come again'." Now they had returned to Larkana. Shahid Ali and his family were among those Pakistanis affected by the Indian government's strict measures following the April 22 attack on tourists in Pahalgam, Indian-administered Kashmir, in which 26 people were killed. The family's ordeal is a testament to the human cost of the Indian government's sabre-rattling vis-a-vis Pakistan. However, this is not the only heart-breaking story. The cancellation of medical visas has affected numerous Pakistani families, who had travelled to India for treatment. Karachi-based Mohammad Imran was another individual, who had been affected. His 16-year-old son Ayaan is paralysed, and Imran had taken him to India for treatment in March. After Pahalgam incident, he was told to leave the country in 48 hours. However, Imran's ordeal does not end there, according to the report. Since, India also cancelled the Pakistani visas granted to the Indian citizens, Imran could return to Pakistan with his son, but his wife could not accompany them, because she happens to be an Indian citizen. With their treatment disrupted and their visas revoked, the affected families have appealed to the Pakistani government to help them secure medical treatment abroad.
